New Study Reveals Video Advertising Insights from European Broadcasters; Highlights Continued Surge in Mobile Video Viewing

11 March 2015

Analysis shows PCs still leading in video ad monetization, with smartphones second among digital devices as mobile viewing grows to over one third of all online viewing

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (March 11, 2015) - Ooyala, a Telstra subsidiary and the leading innovator in premium video publishing, analytics and monetization, today issued its Q4 2014 Global Video Index Report, revealing mobile and tablets now represent more than one third of all online viewing, and providing the first analysis of advertising data from Ooyala’s recently acquired video ad-tech company, Videoplaza. The report pairs insights on ad impressions, fillrates and ad completions across all devices, derived from a sampling of Europe’s top broadcasters and publishers, with Ooyala’s global video viewing data from 220 million unique viewers around the world. The quarterly analysis underscores monetization opportunities and engagement trends in over-the-top video.

Global Engagement On Mobile & Tablets

Mobile and tablets achieved record growth this quarter, touting 34 percent of all online video views. That’s roughly double the number of plays in Q4 2013, more than five times the number of plays in 2012 and 16 times the number of mobile and tablet plays since Ooyala’s first iteration of the Global Video Index Report. This represents the thirteenth consecutive report that mobile and tablet viewership has surmounted the previous quarter’s record.

“This trend is indicative of the huge opportunity broadcasters and publishers now have to personalize experiences for mobile-minded audiences, including both content watched and ads delivered,” says Jay Fulcher chief executive officer of Ooyala. “As phone screens continue to grow and data and pricing plan strategies are optimized to encourage better on-the-go video experiences, companies with strong mobile-first strategies will be the best positioned to maximize their reach and their revenues.”

Broadcaster vs. Publisher: Mobile Ad Impressions

As mobile becomes a primary form of video consumption, ad impressions are starting to follow suit. European market data included in this report from Videoplaza, an Ooyala company and leading ad-serving platform, shows that for broadcasters and publishers, next to desktops, mobile saw the highest percentage of video ad impressions as compared to all other devices.

Specifically, in December 2014, 35 percent of all online ad impressions for European publishers came from mobile devices, more than doubling the share of tablets at 14 percent, and within reach of desktops at 51 percent. On the other hand, broadcasters saw 12 percent of their ad impressions come from both mobile and tablets, with PCs taking the majority share amount at 76 percent. It comes down to content. Publishers’ content can run the spectrum of short to long-form video, conducive to mobile and tablet consumption while broadcasters primarily deliver long-form content.

Ad-Load Opportunity: Viewership Behavior Across Device Segments

With this increase of mobile ad impressions, the report highlights opportunities for content providers to increase ad loads across devices, particularly as mobile and tablets increasingly become the go-to devices for long-form content, content longer than 10 minutes in length.

In Q4 2014, tablet viewers had the highest engagement of any other device, spending 70 percent of their time with long-form content. Mobile viewers are splitting their time nearly evenly between short-form and long-form content, 54 percent and 46 percent respectively. The growth of long-form consumption on smaller screens has been a constant over the three years this report has been published. Content providers should consider increasing mid-roll ad placements across all of their content as viewers demonstrate stronger engagement on these devices.

PCs had the highest fill rates of all devices across all segments measured, reaching 80% for broadcasters and 69% for publishers.

Broadcasters see the highest rate of ad completions (87%), followed by publishers (71%).

In the month of December 2014:

More than 38% of video plays occurred on smartphones and tablet devices. That’s the highest monthly total we’ve seen in more than a dozen quarters.

December mobile and tablet video plays showed a 15% increase from November. This month-to-month increase is the largest in mobile and tablet video plays since the Global Video Index began reporting video metrics.

December also showed the largest monthly year-over-year increase. At 38%, it was up a whopping 114% from just under 18% in 2013.

About Ooyala’s Global Index Report

Ooyala’s Global Video Index report measures the anonymized viewing habits of nearly 220 million viewers in nearly every country in the world. Ooyala processes more than 3.5 billion video analytics events each day that provide granular insights into how people engage with online video across all web-connected devices. The company’s industry-leading analytics technology and real-time big data architecture help media companies, broadcasters, service providers and brands earn more money with mobile, multi-screen video.

About Ooyala

Ooyala, a subsidiary of Telstra Corporation Limited, delivers personalized video experiences across all screens and is a leader in online video management, publishing, analytics and monetization. Ooyala’s integrated suite of technologies and services gives content owners the power to expand audiences through deep insights that drive increased viewer engagement and revenue from video. Through its acquisition of London-based Videoplaza, Ooyala also operates one of the world’s largest premium video ad serving platforms and programmatic trading solutions, delivering ads to viewers across all devices. It is used by the most successful broadcasters and media companies in Europe and the Asia Pacific region to maximize video monetization.

Companies using Ooyala technology include Univision, Foxtel, RTL, Canal+, Vox, Vice, NBC Universal, Telstra, ESPN, SBS Broadcasting, Telegraph Media Group, The North Face, Rolling Stone, and Dell. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Ooyala has offices in New York City, London, Singapore, Stockholm, Sydney, Tokyo and Guadalajara, Mexico. The company works with premier reseller and technology partners throughout the Americas, Europe, Africa, Japan and the Asia-Pacific region. For more information, visit www.ooyala.com.

Ooyala is a leading provider of software and services that simplify the complexity of producing, streaming and monetizing video. Ooyala’s comprehensive suite of offerings includes one of the world's largest premium video platforms, a leading ad decisioning platform and media logistics solution that improves video production workflows. Built with superior analytics capabilities for advanced business intelligence, Ooyala's solutions help broadcasters, operators, media and production companies get content to market faster, build more engaging and personalized experiences across every screen, and maximize return for any video business.